Autonomic Functions
by RinkRat
Summary: Just some verbal doodling. Harm and Mac, alone together. (Ch. 3 is up...no idea how many more to come)
1. Breathing

Autonomic Functions  
  
Harm couldn't believe it. After nearly a decade of longing and desire he was finally here, in Sarah MacKenzie's arms. And for a change it wasn't because of some horrible tragedy. It was because he wanted to be in her arms, and he wanted to have her in his arms.  
  
The joy of the moment threatened to overwhelm him, and before he knew it spots started swimming in his field of vision and he began to feel faint. Quickly he released the breath he'd forgotten he was holding when he gave into the sea of feelings that Mac evoked. Giving his head a little shake as if to clear it, he looked down at the woman he loved only to see a look of concern in her eyes.  
  
"Are you ok?" she asked softly.  
  
"Yeah." He answered trying not to blush.  
  
"Are you sure?" Mac pressed.  
  
"It's silly." Harm tried to deflect her line of questioning.  
  
"Please Harm?"  
  
With a sigh he decided he wasn't going to get out of it. "Like I said it's silly. I forgot to breathe, that's all."  
  
"You forgot to breathe?" Mac asked, sitting up straight in her shock and growing amusement.  
  
"Yes. I forgot to breathe." Harm said with growing frustration.  
  
"As in something out of a romantic story?"  
  
"Yes, Mac. As in something out of a romantic story."  
  
"That's so sweet honey." Mac said with a luminous smile. "Come here." She added in a low whisper.  
  
Leaning down Harm captured her lips with his own, at first gently, but slowly deepening the kiss. Soon their kiss had taken on a passionate life of its own, and they were powerless to do anything but follow along. It was only a few minutes later, however, that Harm had to break the kiss with a gasp. For the next thirty or forty seconds he just sat there as he sought to take in oxygen with huge, panting gasps.  
  
"Harm?"  
  
"Forgot to breathe again." Harm muttered wryly. 


	2. Blinking

A/N Okay. Originally this was just going to be one little chapter, some verbal doodling. Then I got to thinking about other things that are controlled by the Autonomic Nervous System, and started thinking about how they could forget to do other things that were controlled by the ANS and came up with blinking. So here it is.  
  
Blinking  
  
Mac smiled to herself as she savored the pasta salad that Harm had packed for her to have for lunch today. She chuckled as she thought about his response if she were to tell him that she enjoyed something from his "healthy" menu. Snapping the lid back onto the now empty Tupperware dish, Mac took the last swallow of her can of diet cola and tossed the can in the recycling bin. Her five minute lunch was over, and now it was back to researching ways of getting Harm's client convicted. As she thought of her sometimes partner, and recent lover she sighed deeply. She would have loved to have spent lunch with him today, but apparently he had to drive down to Norfolk to interview some witnesses.  
  
Thinking back to the other night, however, brought a smile to her face. It was so sweet that Harm had forgotten to breath, but if she was going to be completely honest with herself, it was a little funny too. Okay, a lot funny. Shaking her head to herself while she chuckled, Mac stepped out of the break room and into the bullpen.  
  
Right away Mac knew something strange was going on because everyone was standing around looking at something in the middle of the bullpen, and no one was talking. Pushing her way through a couple enlisted people who didn't even peep at her intrusion Mac came to a stop seeing Harm in his dress whites kneeling on a towel. Directly in front of him was the tall form of the Admiral, and the two of them seemed to be having some sort of conversation.  
  
Hesitantly Mac stepped up to stand next to the Admiral and looked between him and Harm in confusion.  
  
"Ah, Colonel. I believe this is yours." the Admiral said with a nod in Harm's direction.  
  
"Uh." Mac started but couldn't think of anything else to say.  
  
"Well then, I'll just get out of your way then." The Admiral said with his smile ringing in his voice.  
  
"Harm?" Mac asked softly when the Admiral had stepped back. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Well I thought that would have been obvious Sarah." Harm said with one of his patented "flyboy" grins.  
  
"I thought you were in Norfolk." Mac plowed on without engaging her brain. Slowly she was becoming aware of a dry feeling tugging at her eyes.  
  
"Obviously not." Harm said still smiling. Slowly he raised his hand in which was nestled a simple, yet beautiful, solitaire diamond ring. "Sarah, I wanted everyone to know how much I love you, and how much I want you in my life, always. Its always been you, always will be you Sarah. Will you marry me?"  
  
Mac looked around, stunned that Harm would do this in front of everyone at the office. Harm, the man who couldn't figure out how to express his feelings, the man who was afraid of his feelings. Suddenly she realized that she hadn't answered him and everyone in the office, the Admiral included, was looking to her, waiting for her answer. With a smile she nodded towards Harm and whispered "Yes."  
  
Smiling Harm stood up and tenderly slid the ring onto Mac's finger. As he pulled her into his arms he felt her tears on his shoulder. "I hope those are happy tears." He said gently.  
  
"Some of them are." Mac said with a smile.  
  
"Some of them?" Harm asked in sudden concern.  
  
"Yeah. The rest are because I forgot to blink." Mac answered in an exact parody of Harm's tone when he told he'd forgot to breathe. 


	3. Hearing

A/N: Ok. Just a warning to the women out there; I've never had the privledge to be involved in the events depicted in this chapter. Therefore I apologize if everything I've got written here about the event is wrong, the mistakes are merely the result of never having said privledge.

A/N 2: Never dedicated anything to anyone...but I guess I'm going to dedicate this to M and C. It is because of them that I came up with the idea for the first Autonomic Functions story, so this one is for them.

**Autonomic Functions – Hearing**

Harm couldn't help alternating between pure joy and stark terror. Not that long ago Mac had begun to suffer from nausea a great deal and had even begun to shy away from red meat. Nausea and change in diet had soon been confirmed to be the beginnings of pregnancy, and Harm had had to come to grips with the fact that he was going to be a father. And that's where the joy and terror came in. One minute he was on cloud nine, the next he was terrified that he wouldn't know how to be a good father. All his friends and coworkers had noticed his behavior, but it was his new wife that had to live with it.

She'd tried to explain to him all the many reasons why he would make an excellent father, and his rational mind had to agree with her. Unfortunately his terror was not based on rational thought.

Today however was a pure joy day. Today he and Mac were going in for an ultrasound. According to the doctor their child should be developed enough that they would be able to make out some features. He wasn't completely sure what to expect, but Bud had told him that he should be able to make out an arm or a leg, definitely the head. He couldn't wait.

"Ready?" Mac asked from just inside his office.

Looking up with a full blown smile he nodded quickly and stood up to grab his cover. "You bet."

Riding down in the elevator Harm couldn't help but stare at her. His wife. Mac was finally his wife, and even though they'd been married for a couple months he just couldn't get over that fact. It seemed like everything was possible as long as he'd finally been able to convince Mac to marry him.

"What are you looking at?" Mac asked when she noticed his not so subtle staring.

Harm decided to answer her with a quick passionate kiss. "You. You are the most beautiful woman in the world, did you know that?"

"Harmon!" Mac slapped him lightly on the arm with a musical laugh. She loved it when he was in this mood. She was so glad he wasn't in one of his 'I'm not going to be a good dad' moods.

Forty minutes later they were waiting in a small examination room at Bethesda. Harm had made a few good natured comments about her hospital gown as she'd changed, and she'd taken them in the spirit in which they'd been meant. Neither one of them could believe how different the teasing was now that they were married. It didn't mean they didn't have their fights, but deep down they now knew that no matter the fight there was love there as well.

"Commander Rabb, Colonel Rabb. Good to see you both again." Mac's OBGYN Lieutenant Commander Mary Tallmadge came into the room with a smile. "Are we ready to take a look at that little sailor of yours?"

"There's Marine Green in this little ones future." Mac said stubbornly with a smile.

"We'll see." Harm was equally stubborn about their little sailor.

Mary just smiled and held out the jelly she would apply before the ultrasound. "This will be a little cool to start with Colonel, so be prepared." She said as she covered Mac with a sheet and then raised her hospital gown to expose her stomach. Applying a small amount of the jelly she took up the ultrasound device and started to move it slowly over Mac's abdomen.

All three people intently watched the monitor the device was attached to. At first Harm couldn't make out much, just a white blob on a black background, but eventually he began to see what he thought were arms and legs. Looking closer he squinted a bit, sure he wasn't interpreting things right. Looking over at Mac he saw an equally puzzled look in her eyes. Reaching out he grabbed her hand and squeezed tight. Please Lord, don't let there be anything wrong with their child. Their perfect little child.

"Well this is strange." Mary said softly. Quickly she hooked up a fetal heart monitor to Mac and turned on the speaker. Mac's strong heartbeat could be heard clearly, as well as a very rapid little heartbeat.

"Doctor? Is there a problem?" Harm asked quietly.

"Not a problem per say..." Mary started and then fiddled with a few knobs on the machine. "Oh my."

Carefully Mary looked at the monitor and then compared what she saw to some readings on the heart rate monitor. "Oh my."

"What is it Doctor?" Mac asked insistently with a touch of fear in her voice.

"I can't be one hundred percent sure, but if I may ask...do either of your families have a history of multiple births?"

"You mean like twins?" Harm asked puzzled.

"More like triplets." Mary answered with a bright smile.

Harm knew his mouth was moving. He knew he was trying to say something. He knew the doctor was saying something, he knew Mac was saying something, but for the life of him he didn't know what it was. Their mouths were moving, but for the life of him he couldn't hear what they were saying. After a few moments both were looking at him with slightly apprehensive expressions.

"Harm?" he finally heard Mac say. Shaking his head a little he looked from one woman to the other.

"I'm sorry. It seems I've forgotten how to hear. Did you say triplets?" he answered the unspoken questions both women had.


End file.
